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NavSource Online: Aircraft Carrier Photo Archive

USS LEXINGTON (CV-2)

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to rightTop Row: American Defense Service Medal ("Fleet" clasp) / Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2 stars) / World War II Victory Medal

Lexington Class Aircraft Carrier

Awarded

Laid down

Launched

Commissioned

Decommissioned

Stricken

(see below)

8 Jan 1921

3 Oct 1925

14 Dec 1927

24 Jun 1942

Builder: Bethlehem Steel Corp., Fore River, Quincy, Mass.

Named to commemorate the events of 19 April 1775: Minutemen fought
a detachment of British troops at Lexington, Mass., opening the Revolutionary War
with the "shot heard round the world." Three previous US warships had borne this
name.

Ordered in the spring of 1917 and laid down as a Lexington-class Battle
Cruiser. Designated CC-1.

Construction suspended on 8 February 1922.

Conversion to an aircraft carrier authorized on 1 July 1922. Redesignated CV-2.

Re-ordered as an aircraft carrier in the fall of 1922.

Sponsored by Mrs. Theodore D. Robinson, wife of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1924–1929).

Fate: Torpedoed and bombed by Japanese
carrier-based aircraft, 8 May 1942 (Battle of the Coral Sea) (read War
Damage Report No. 16, located on the website). Scuttled by USS Phelps
(DD-360).

A number of her crew were lost with the ship and remain on active duty.

Rear Admiral David W. Taylor, USN (left), Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair,
and Rear Admiral John K. Robison, USN (right), Chief of the Bureau of Engineering, hold a model of the
battle cruisers (CC-1 class) then under construction, 8 March 1922. In the foreground is a model of
an aircraft carrier design converted from the battle cruiser hull. This photo illustrates the genesis
of the Lexington-class aircraft carrier design. Standing in the background are (from left to
right): Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, USN, Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics; Congressman Frederick
C. Hicks, of New York; Congressman Clark Burdick, of Rhode Island; and Congressman Philip D. Swing,
of California. Photographed at the Navy Department by Harris & Ewing.

Photograph from Department of the Navy collections in the U.S. National Archives (# 80-CF-395b).

NHC

NS020292

48k

Contract design for the Lexington and the Saratoga,
1922. The oval opening right aft is for twin torpedo tubes.

Lexington on the building ways at the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy,
Massachusetts, shortly before her launching, circa late September or early October 1925. Taken
by a photographer from Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Photograph from Department of the Navy collections in the U.S. National Archives (# 80-CF-21126-7).

NHC

NS020274

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Lexington (CV-2) fitting out at the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard, Quincy,
Massachusetts.

Paul Rebold

NS020245

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Lexington (CV-2) in the final states of fitting out, at the Bethlehem Steel
Company shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, in November 1927. (Merchant ship partially visible at right
is the S.S. West Grama, which served as USS West
Grama (ID # 3794) in 1919.)

A picture that Dave's father, Raymond Garner, purchased from an entrepreneurial photographer who
was selling this photo to young seamen as they reported for duty aboard the Lex on the
date shown in the photo.

Because of the odd size of the photo (24" X 7.5"), Dave had to scan two images and put them together.

Dave notes three things that stand out in this photo to make it unique:

The 1920s cars on the left

The difference in the size of the Lex and the freighters on the right

The shape of the bow due to these early "Plane Carriers" being constructed on cruiser hulls

"DC-552298-MISSING NAVY FLYER.-Commander T[heodore] G[ordon] Ellyson,
executive officer of the plane carrier USS Lexington and the Navy's senior flying officer,
who took off with two companions from Hampton Roads, Va., Monday afternoon [27 February 1928] in an
amphibian plane for Annapolis, Md., and has not been heard from since.-"

"Photo shows Commander T.G. Ellyson.-"

"Photo from Wide World Photos. Washington Bureau.-"

Tommy Trampp

NS020246

30k

Location and date unknown, pre-war image (poor).

USN

NS020209

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Passing through Culebra Cut, Panama Canal, (date unknown but, as deduced from the
forward end of her flight deck, taken before her 1936 refit).

From the collection of Joseph P. English. Contributed by his son, George E. English.

"Battle Practice," circa 1928. Note VB-1B "Red Ripper" F6C in the foreground, and a
Lexington-class carrier steaming in the background.

From the service photo album of Lance's grandfather, who served aboard Lexington until
March 1931.

Lance Kreisman

NS020213

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Curtiss F6C fighters (lower right) and Martin T3M torpedo planes on the carrier's
flight deck, as she arrives off San Diego, California, on her maiden cruise, 4 April 1928. Note
lowered elevator.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. (# NH 51380).

NHC

Change of Command, 22 August 1928

Rear Admiral Joseph M. Reeves, Commander, Aircraft Squadrons, Battle
Fleet, conducted a quarterly inspection of USS Lexington (CV-2) on Tuesday, 21 August
1928. The next day Captain Frank Berrien relieved the ship's skipper, the newly frocked Rear Admiral
Albert W. Marshall, as Lexington's commanding officer. These photos were taken on the
22nd of August (some of them may have been taken on the 21st).

USS Lexington (CV-2), left, and USS Saratoga (CV-3),
right, moored at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, 22 September 1928. Note Sara
had a walkway on the face of her stack—one of the few distinguishing features between these otherwise
nearly identical twins.

From the collection of Joseph P. English. Contributed by his son, George E. English.

NS020284

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Front view of the island of USS Lexington (CV-2), 1929–1933.

From the collection of RADM Theodore R. Frederick.

Edwin Kaukali

NS020247

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From 17 December 1929 to 16 January 1930 USS Lexington supplied
electrical power to Tacoma, Washington, when this city suffered a power shortage. The electricity
from the carrier totaled more than 4.25 million kilowatt-hours.

USS Los Angeles
(ZR-3) flies over ships of the U.S. Fleet, circa 1930. Photographed from on board the airship, with
two of her engine cars in the foreground. Ships below are USS Patoka
(AO-9), closest to the camera, and the aircraft carriers Lexington (CV-2) and Saratoga
(CV-3).

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives (# 80-G-462136).

Boeing F3B-1s of Bombing Squadron 2 (VB-2B) in USS Lexington's hangar,
seen from a lift well; Vought O2U Corsair observation floatplanes of Observation Squadron 3
(VS-3B) are stowed aft. Photo taken sometime between June 1931 and June 1933. US Navy photo.

Robert Hurst

NS020264

153k

Four photos of USS Lexington (CV-2) taken before her 1935 refit
at Puget Sound Navy Yard, as indicated by the absence of the four sponsons (two forward, two aft) installed
to augment her anti-aircraft armament.

USS Lexington (CV-2) underway, March 15, 1932. Note how closely the T4M
torpedo-bombers and the smaller fighter and observation aircraft are packed together.

Robert Hurst

NS020205

616k

USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Saratoga
(CV-3) in front of Diamond Head. Regardless of what is printed on the picture, it was taken on February
2, 1933 while both sister carriers were awaiting the official beginning of Fleet Problem XIV
(February 6.)

USS Lexington (CV-2), left, and USS Saratoga
(CV-3) open to the public for viewing at New York City, June 1934.

Photo from the collection of Edmund Cokely WO2, USN (Ret.) Submitted by his son-in-law,
John Dupre'

NS020289

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Three photos of USS Lexington (CV-2)—and her sister USS
Saratoga (CV-3)—in New York harbor in June 1934.

Eugene A. Brandner, AIA

NS020289a

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NS020289b

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NS020285

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USS Lexington (CV-2) moored to West Fiftieth Street Dock, Hudson
River, NY. A BM dive/torpedo bomber assigned to Torpedo Squadron One can be seen parked aft on the
flight deck, which suggests a rough time frame of 1932–36. Moreover, USS Saratoga
(CV-3) can be seen across the pier. Both Sara and Lex visited New York and were
moored to Pier 90 (West Fiftieth Street Dock), June 1-19, 1934, after a Presidential Review. This
photo was probably taken at that time.

Photo by Edwin Levick. Edwin Levick Collection, Mariner's Museum.

Jim Geldert

NS020285a

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NS020249

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Four photos of USS Lexington taken by Radioman 3C George W.
Allen, circa 1935.

Top: VS-3B Squadron insignia (Indian head in circle) is clearly visible on the biplane.

Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington. Aerial photograph taken in the mid-1930s.
Alongside the pier in center are the aircraft tender (ex-collier) Jason
(AV-2), laid up in 1932 and sold in 1936, and the crane ship Kearsarge.
Also present are the aircraft carriers Lexington (CV-2) and Saratoga
(CV-3), the latter with her distinctive funnel stripe.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph (# NH 45236).

NHC

NS020258

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USS Lexington underway circa 1936, showing her very wide funnel with its
black top edge, under which the MG platform was situated. The 8in/55 twin mounts, and also the single
5in(127mm)/25s grouped in threes, are clearly visible.

Robert Hurst

NS020217

92k

USS Lexington (CV-2) off Long Beach, California, 17 September 1936,
with crewmembers spelling out "NAVY" on her flight deck.

Courtesy of Commander Robert L. Ghormley, Jr., 1969.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. (# NH 67420).

NHC

NS020257

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USS Lexington (CV-2) entering Puget Sound Navy Yard, date unknown—might
have been taken in late 1936, as the machine gun sponsons (fore and aft) and platform (around funnel)
are already in place, but forward flight deck has not yet been widened.

In July 1937 battleship USS Colorado
(BB-45); aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2); seaplane tender USS Swan
(AVP-7): destroyers USS Lamson (DD-367),
USS Cushing (DD-376), and USS Drayton
(DD-366); and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Itascasearched
in vain to locate Amelia Earhart (photo) after her disappearance in the middle Pacific (an area
the size of Texas) during her around-the world flight. There has been much speculation about her disappearance
over these past decades with a long list of theories, never substantiated, recorded over time on exactly
what happened to Amelia and her navigator, Fred Noonan.

USS Lexington (CV-2) in the Gaillard Cut, Panama Canal. There are monoplane
TBD-1 Devastator torpedo-bombers parked aft on the flight deck; therefore, the photo was possibly
taken in 1939, when Lexington was returning to the Pacific after Fleet Problem XX.

"Service Afloat," Navy recruiting poster issued in November 1939. It features photographs
of USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Dunlap
(DD-384), as well as a pilothouse scene on a battleship and views of sailors splicing a hawser, carrying
a hammock and sea bag, assisting a ship's navigator and standing engine room throttle watch.

USS Lexington (CV-2), left distance, with part of the Pacific Fleet in
1940 at Lahaina, Maui.

It is possible that the battleship on the left is USS California
(BB-44). The center battleship appears to be a Nevada class, either USS Nevada
(BB-36) or USS Oklahoma (BB-37).
The rightmost battleship is believed to be a Pennsylvania class, USS Pennsylvania
(BB-38) rather than USS Arizona (BB-39).
(See NS014462u for details.)

In this picture Lexington still retains her twin 8" mounts. Four 1.1" mounts have
been installed, one on each quadrant, and a fifth mount between the bridge and the funnel. Atop each
8" mount is a gun tub containing two .50-cal mounts.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. (# 80-G-416362).

(Thanks to Robert Hurst, who provided additional information).

NHC

NS020207

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Vertical aerial photograph of Ford Island, taken 10 November 1941, with five
battleships tied up along "Battleship Row" at the top of the image. USS Lexington
(CV-2), a seaplane tender and a light cruiser are moored on the island's other (northwestern)
side. Approximately 21 PBY patrol planes are parked at the Naval Air Station's seaplane base,
in the upper right. The bright diagonal line, at the lower left end of Ford Island, points to
the north.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph (NHC # 80-G-279385), now in the collections of the National
Archives.